My Hummingbird Buddies
My Hummingbird Buddies
One of my favorite things to do in the desert, is put my hummingbird feeder out and attract my hummingbird buddies. In years past I’ve had Anna’s hummers show up, but this year I have a different species, the Costa’s hummingbird. These guys are a little bit smaller, and the male is so incredibly beautiful.
The little female showed up first, but she was way shy. Every time I had my camera outside, she would fly off the second I tried getting a photo. I ended up just getting photos from the inside of the RV, which is kinda like being in a blind I suppose.
This is her coming in for a landing on the feeder.
Another approach.
The little male isn’t so skittish, and he will hang around the feeder for a long time eating.
I prefer to capture him not on the feeder though, and I inadvertently tricked him into sitting on the branches the other day. We had a great rain storm Monday evening. It was windy, then it poured almost all evening. It was great. Anyway, Tuesday morning I took the feeder in the house to refill it because there wasn’t much left. He came swooping in and flew all over the bush trying to find the feeder. It was quite hilarious, you could just see him thinking, “I know it was here….” He eventually landed on a branch and stayed there for the longest time. It was great for me.
It didn’t take him long to come back for breakfast after I put the feeder back out.
They are such little jewels, I love watching them. I did an artistic texture overlay on these two images. The color on this males head is so incredibly vibrant.
Thursday a pair of Anna’s hummers showed up. They might be the same pair I have been getting the last couple years, but this male Costa’s wasn’t haven’t any of it and kept chasing him off. That is a sight to see let me tell you, these little hummers fly so fast. The Costa’s male chases the other one a fair distance, then he will stop and hover in the air watching to make sure the other male keeps going.
This is the male Anna’s hummingbird.
And the female Anna’s. She seemed a bit confused trying to nectar from the feeder.
Then I had this odd hummingbird. Lol.
I looked up the hummingbird as a spirit animal, to see what they can bring to a person. This is an excerpt from the spiritanimal.info site. Click the link to read the whole thing.
The hummingbird generally symbolizes joy and playfulness, as well as adaptability. Additional symbolic meanings are:
- Lightness of being, enjoyment of life
- Being more present
- Independence
- Bringing playfulness and joy in your life
- Lifting up negativity
- Swiftness, ability to respond quickly
- Resiliency, being able to travel great distances tirelessly
If the hummingbird shows up in your life as a spirit animal, it may remind you to enjoy life’s simple pleasures and take time to enjoy yourself. The hummingbird’s wisdom carries an invitation to take part in and draw to you life’s sweetness, like you would drink the nectar of your own flower.
The call of the hummingbird totem will guide you to open up to love and lightness in your emotional life. When you see your totem, you are encouraged to open up your heart and expose yourself more to joy and love. It might be time to show how you feel to loved ones or people who are close to you.
I like that! Such positiveness from this little flying jewel.
Wonderful photos. I know how challenging they can be to photograph – quick little things!
Wonderful pics of these tiny jewels Mary.”Humming bird” Very interesting little bird. Looks like they were glad to see you back with your offerings. Little clown fairies that zip around with such grace; and never seem to land.
WOOOOOOOOOO, Mary, these have to be some of your BEST shots! You know how I feel about your horses, and they will always be my favorites, but you have captured another symbol of “Freedom” here. It’s not easy freezing freedom, but your skills and choice of lighting have brought this to your audience. That male, well ain’t he charming! He looks like a Minnesota Viking, donned in his purple! And the svelte female, such an emerald beauty. AWESOME WORK!
Thanks so much. Ya, the male does look like he has a purple helmet or something on. It’s a challenge to capture these little guys, but so satisfying when I do.
They appear so big in your photos, but they are such tiny birds. Hummers always bring my mom back to her little girl days. Her grandparents lived up north on a lake and had a hummingbird feeder. Everyone used to sit around and watch them. No idea what kind of hummers they were, but they are definitely cool birds.
It’s so much fun to watch a bunch at a feeder. All I have here is one at a time though.
Hello, your hummer photos are stunning. The Costa’s is beautiful. I love them all, Torrey is a birdwatcher too. Gorgeous photos! Enjoy your day and new week!
I’m going to think about that now every time I see a hummingbird – I love it! We only have ruby-throated here so I really enjoyed seeing these other varieties (though the females look basically the same). What great shots you got, and the purple on that male Costa is amazing!
Apparently Torrey wanted to see the birds too, or she wondered what was so good that they were eating! :)
I think Torrey may have wondered what was so good over there. And thanks!
Incredible captures, Mary! Amazing clarity, wow!!
Thanks so much!
Absolutely gorgeous birds (and puppy dog)
Gorgeous! We have a lot of hummingbirds coming around our hedge. In fact, two of them were fighting quite a lot over it just yesterday! (It’s a big hedge, you guys! Share it!) I tried to go get my camera and capture some pics of them but couldn’t get a single decent one!
We did have some a few years back, but they are so quick, I never really got a good look at them, never mind a photo!
Love the pics. That last hummingbird looks to be quite a bit bigger than the others. I might be able to get a pic of that one. ;-)
OMG! Amazing photos! What GORGEOUS coloring the male has – I absolutely love the bright purple! Hummingbirds are such beautiful little birds!
The male Costa’s throat is such a brilliant purple that it almost looks like it must be fake! LOL. They are such gorgeous animals. I love when we have ours around. Thanks for sharing your “buddies”!